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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, NOVEMBER 19, 1982
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In the Asian area, the audio portion of Mr. Armstrong's message was picked
up at Port Dickson and Bentota via telephone hookup. Unfortunately, due to
remoteness and technical difficulties, Mr. Armstrong's message was not able
to be recorded for the brethren in Burma and the Solomon Islands. Copies of
Mr. Armstrong's first message on cassette have since been sent to our
brethren in these areas.
God's protection and intervention were evident at many of the Feast sites.
For example, at Port Macquarie, Australia, for some days prior to the
Feast, the area experienced cyclonic weather with heavy winds, rain and
some hail. However, on the afternoon just prior to the opening night ser
vice, weather conditions rapidly cleared and the brethren there enjoyed
good weather throughout the Feast. Then, on the evening at the close of the
Last Great Day, the weather underwent another noticeable change. Once
again heavy rain began to fall, so much so that by the following Monday
serious flooding had occurred in that area of the country, cutting off many
of the access roads. Fortunately, all the brethren had left for home soon
after the Feast and no one was affected by the flood waters.
We were grateful for the opportunity to hear sermons at the Feast from guest
speakers Mr. Bill Winner and Mr. Dexter Faulkner. Both Mr. Winner and Mr.
Faulkner served here during the pioneering years of God's Work in Aus
tralia, so the opportunity for many of the members to renew their
acquaintance with them was most appreciated.
While the offering in Australia for the first annual Holy Day of the Feast
was down slightly from the previous year, the offering on the Last Great Day
rose by an excellent 27.1%. Taking an average for the two Holy Days during
the eight-day period, the brethren in Australia contributed a 13.6% in
crease in offerings.
Since returning from the Feast, the office staff has been very busy
catching up on the backlog of mail, processing a total of 16,986 letters for
the month. This is slightly less than the number of letters received in
October last year.
The slight decrease is due mainly to our reduced
newsstand programme necessitated by spiraling costs and the continuing
economic recession in this country.
However, the newsstand programme
continues to be one of our most effective tools in placing The PLAIN TRUTH
into the hands of new readers, adding an average of over 1,300 new
subscribers to the mailing list each month.
This past month the last few responses to Mr. Armstrong
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s June 1982 semi
annual letter offering THE WONDERFUL WORLD TOMORROW and THE UNITED STATES
AND BRITAIN IN PROPHECY, were received from Australian subscribers.
Altogether, a total of 11,511 readers (15.8% of the mailing list) requested
the literature offered by Mr. Armstrong, and 584 of these subscribers con
tributed $15,720 in donations.
Because of the distances involved, final results for this semiannual letter
from Asian countries will not be available for several months yet.
New Zealand A lull in incoming mail during October has enabled us to catch
up on office work after a stupendous Feast of Tabernacles. Just over 2,700
pieces of mail were received, the smallest monthly count for some years.
However, this will undoubtedly turn out to be "the lull before the storm,"
with Mr. Armstrong's latest semiannual letter as well as a large quantity